Netanyahu: “No one who fires at Israel is immune” – 14-story apt building destroyed

Reminding Gazans that ‘Operation Protective Edge’ is continuing, Israel’s PM warns Palestinians to evacuate locales where Hamas operates – after Israeli jets leveled a 14-story ap’t building housing Hamas’ operations center in Gaza. “We have proven that no one who fires at Israel’s citizens is immune,” Netanyahu said.

By Israel Hayom Staff and The Associated Press

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Sunday that the operation in Gaza was far from over, telling his cabinet that “Operation Protective Edge will continue until we complete our mission, even after the start of the school year.”

Rubble of a 14-story apartment building that was hit by missiles during an Israeli air strike in the heart of Gaza City on Saturday – Photo: AFP

The current school year is scheduled to begin on Sept. 1, in just over a week.

“We have proven in the last few days that no one who fires at Israel’s citizens is, or will ever be immune. That is true on all fronts and on all borders,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, less than a week after Israeli bombs targeted and possibly killed Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, which was followed up by the killing of three of the senior-most Hamas military leaders two days later.

Netanyahu extended his condolences to the family of 4-year-old Daniel Tregerman who was killed Friday in a mortar attack on a community near the Gaza border. “Sweet, innocent Daniel was murdered by Hamas terrorists. Hamas will pay a heavy price for these crimes,” Netanyahu warned.

He called on the residents of Gaza to immediately evacuate the locales where Hamas is operating, saying that “these places are targets.”

Finally, he commended the residents of southern Israel for their perseverance and promised to authorize an “exceptional” compensation package to benefit the communities that have been hit. “We are with you,” he said to the residents of the south, “and we will stay with you until calm is achieved and even after. We launched Operation Protective Edge to restore calm and security to your towns, and we will not end this operation until we have done that.”

Earlier Sunday, Israeli airstrikes leveled a seven-floor office building and severely damaged a two-story shopping center in the Gaza Strip, signaling a new escalation in seven weeks of fighting with Hamas.

The strikes in the southern town of Rafah came just hours after Israel bombed an apartment tower in Gaza City, collapsing the 14-story building housing 48 apartments. Around 30 people were wounded in the strikes, but no one was killed, Palestinian officials said.

The targeting of large buildings appears to be part of a new military tactic by Israel. Over the weekend, the army began warning Gaza residents in automated phone calls that it would target buildings harboring “terrorist infrastructure” and that they should stay away.

A senior military official confirmed that Israel has a policy of striking at buildings containing Hamas operational centers or those from which military activities are launched. The official said each strike required prior approval from military lawyers and is carried out only after the local population is warned.

However, he said, there was now a widening of locations that the military can target. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to discuss the matter with reporters.

In the 14-story apartment tower, the target was a fourth-floor apartment where Hamas ran an operations center, according to Israeli media. In the past, Israel has carried out pinpoint strikes, targeting apartments in high-rises with missiles, while leaving the buildings standing. However, this time a decision was made to bring down the entire tower, according to Channel 10, an Israeli TV station.

The military declined immediate comment when asked why it collapsed the entire building instead of striking a specific apartment.

Meanwhile, Gaza militants continued to fire rockets and mortar shells at Israel, including dozens on Sunday, the military said. That was in addition to more than 100 on Saturday, most aimed at southern Israel.

Amid persistent violence, Egypt has urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume indirect talks in Cairo on a durable cease-fire, but stopped short of issuing invitations.

Several rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have collapsed, along with temporary cease-fires that accompanied them. The gaps between Israel and the Islamic militant group on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza remain vast, and there’s no sign either is willing to budge.

The Israeli military said it had carried out some 20 strikes on Gaza since midnight Saturday.

In Rafah, Israeli aircraft bombed the seven-story Zourab building, which houses an office of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. Witnesses said the building was leveled and that the strikes caused severe damage to nearby shops, homes and cars. It was not immediately clear if anyone was wounded or killed.

Another strike hit a nearby shopping center with dozens of shops, sparking a fire that gutted the two-story building and wounding seven people. After daybreak Sunday, smoke was still rising from the site as shop owners inspected the damage. Windows and doors had been blown out in nearby buildings.

The military said the two buildings were attacked because they housed facilities linked to militants, but did not provide details. The Gaza City apartment tower toppled Saturday was targeted because a Hamas command center operated from there, the army said. Twenty-two people were wounded in that strike.

Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra, who confirmed the casualty figures for the strikes, said two people were killed in a pair of airstrikes near a coastal road on Sunday, including one on a group of people coming out of a mosque after morning prayers.

Two more fatalities were registered when a motorcycle was targeted, he said.

The U.N. estimates that more than 17,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair since the war began on July 8. In some of the attacks, family homes with three or four floors were pulverized.

However, the weekend strikes marked the first time large buildings were toppled.

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